Arielle R. Mandell

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About

Arielle R. Mandell investigates the intersection of social cognition and human-computer interaction, focusing on how the perception of social agents—both human and artificial—affects cognitive performance. Her work challenges assumptions about the benefits of social presence in technology, revealing nuanced effects on attention and mental processing. In her highly cited 2017 study (14 citations), Mandell demonstrated that perceiving a mind in humanoid agents can paradoxically impair cognitive processing, as automatic mentalizing competes for limited attentional resources. This finding reframes how we understand the cognitive costs of anthropomorphizing technology. Earlier, her 2015 paper (11 citations) explored whether social agents could improve vigilance performance—a classic finding from social facilitation theory—and found that the mere presence of an artificial agent does not automatically enhance sustained attention, complicating the design of effective collaborative systems. Mandell’s research is essential for developers of virtual assistants, educational software, and autonomous systems, offering evidence that the “social” nature of agents must be carefully calibrated to avoid unintended cognitive burdens. Her work bridges social psychology and human-robot interaction, providing a critical lens for designing technology that truly supports human cognition.